3. The priest-victim is not so much a critic of the social or political or economic order, as he is a prophet. Inherent in human nature is a tendency to destroy that which one is refuses to imitate. That is why holiness in the priest is today on the defensive; the unholy taunt: "He is wasting his time with a Holy Hour a day." The unfaithful husband is always abusive against the virtuous wife. Criticism derives its attention from the dignity of the one attacked; for example, the Church or the bishop or the Pope. An attack on the Pope would get first page in the newspaper. The prophetic spirit, on the contrary, is born of seeing a need in the midst of failures and sin. The prophetic spirit of Ezekiel broke down a wall and saw filthy things. - Ezekiel 8:8-16 -

As a proof that prophecy is born in time of crisis, recall that the first prophecy in Scripture is after the Fall in the promise of the "Seed of the Woman." - Gen. 3:15 - When the priesthood of Israel failed for want of holiness and victim-hood, God initiated the prophetic order with Samuel. - Acts 3:24 - John the Baptist was a prophetic portent against the religious crisis of Israel caused by the Pharisees and Sadducees. - Luke 1:11-17 -

The mission of the priest as a prophet is to stir up a slumbering conscience, although this not be what the people want: "Give us smooth words and seductive visions." - Isaiah 30:10 - The prophets who complained against Israel loved Israel. By the same token, the prophets who speak out against the anti-Holy Spirit in the Church still love the Church. A prophet is a Divine Troubler, not a political troubler. He is always a disturber of worldly peace; he makes listeners feel uneasy. As the world settles into mediocrity, there is a tendency for us to judge ourselves by our peers; the young by the young, the old by the old.

Too many clubs of mutual exoneration exist in the world today. "We should not dare to class ourselves or compare ourselves which any those who put forward their own claims." - 2Cor. 10:12 - The priest-prophet disturbs the comfortable and comforts the disturbed. Like the Lord he cures; he meets people on the level of their desires and lifts them to the level of their needs. He is to be to the people what Elijah was to Ahab: a "troubler of Israel." - 1Kings 18:17 -

Not everyone who condemns corruption and protests injustice is thereby a prophet; the test is always whether it leads people to God or away from Him. - Duet. 13:1-5 - St. John recommends testing the prophets: "for among those who have gone into the world, there are prophets falsely inspired." Then he gives the test that the true prophet acknowledges "that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh." - 1John 4:1-3 - A want of the prophetic spirit in bishops and priests is one of the major tragedies of the Church today. There is fear to speak out, to denounce, to persuade priests, religious and the world of errors and sin. We are so afraid of being unloved. "If you do not warn him to give up his evil ways... I will hold you answerable for his death." - Ezekiel 3:19 - In these days of spiritual apathy, we may well fear that the words of T. S. Eliot will come true: "This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper."

4. The priest-victim in the world views his life as agnostic; he is in a combat. the world as a theatre of redemption is good, because God made it and Christ's feet walked upon it. But the world as a spirit is evil. As a young man can first admire the virtue of a young woman and then ultimately sin with the virtuous, so the ambassadors of God can love the world as they should and then become worldly.

The priest and religious in serving the world must realize that there is a part of it of which the Lord said, "I am not praying for the world." - John 17:9 - Care must be taken lest they succumb to that unprayer part of the world. Furthermore, they are sent as "sheep among wolves" - Matt.10:16 - and as "lamb among wolves" - Luke 10:3 - not a pretty picture of those who want to be "with it". More important still, the world in which they labour has a "Prince of the world." - John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11 -
So much is he the ruler of men's minds that he is their acknowledged head. That is why the witness of Christ has an "agnostic" way of life and is engaged in a decisive combat: "For our fight is not against human foes, but against cosmic powers, against the authorities and potentates of the dark world, against the superhuman forces of evil in the heavens." - Eph. 6:12 - Rimbaud's phrase is applicable: "The spiritual conflict is as brutal as any battle in time of war."

5. Finally, the priest-victim in the world not only works................

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -